Riverside Theatres to Present 9th Annual SHARP SHORT DANCE Festival

From 15th to 19th November, the Sharp Short Dance festival will return bigger and better than ever when some of the nation's best young dancers and choreographers battle it out for top honours.

Presented by FORM Dance Projects, the ninth annual Sharp Short Dance festival is open to dancers and choreographers aged 21 years and under. Finalists will compete for awards and a share in prizes and highly-sought after industry secondments with The Dream Dance Company, Sydney Dance Company, Shaun Parker & Company, Bangarra Dance Theatre and Phly Crew.

Sharp Short Dance celebrates the sheer joy of dance in all its forms including classical ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, krumping and cultural dance. Since its' launch, the event has hosted hundreds of entrants, with many returning each year, to strive for artistic excellence, develop their choreographic and performance skills, meet like-minded artists, and network with peers and industry experts.

Across four days, the festival will include daily heats and conclude with an exciting final where selected works will be judged by a panel of renowned industry professionals. This year's impressive line-up of judges includes Jesse Rasmussen (The Tap Pack, TV's So You Think You Can Dance), Juliette Verne (Bonnie Lythgoe Productions' The Lion King) and Miranda Wheen (Dance Makers Collective) to name a few!

Many Sharp Short Dance finalists have continued onto industry success including Lauren Seymour (2014 runner up on TV's So You Think You Can Dance), Sean Marcs (dancer for DV8, London, 2015; Shaun Parker & Company, Sydney, 2014), Billy Keohavong (apprentice for T.H.E. Dance Company, Singapore; dancer in Puncture, Sydney Festival 2015) Emma Jarman (Soloist in Opera Australia and Gordon Frost Organisation's The King and I), Brandon Atoui (dancer for Marko Panzic's The Dream Dance Company), and Abuzar Abdelrahim and Susan Abau (Present and Vice-President of Afro-Contemporary Youth Dance).

MC of this year's Festival and 2011 Sharp Short Dance awards-winner, Joshua O'Grady, said, "Winning the Audience Choice and Best New Talent awards gave me the confidence I needed to move forward with my professional dance career. I am thrilled to return to MC and see what Sydney's new generation of dancers have in store!"

What: Sharp Short Dance

When:

- Heat One - 7.30pm on Tuesday 15th November (jazz, tap and lyrical dance works)

- Heat Two - 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th November (classical and contemporary dance works)

- Heat Three - 7.30pm on Thursday 17th November (cultural, hip hop and street dance works)

- Finals - 7.30pm on Saturday 19th November

Tickets: From $12 to $25. Available from the Box Office (02) 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au

Where: Riverside Theatres - Corner of Church and Market Streets, Parramatta

Photo Credit: Dom O'Donnell

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